scifi books

Review: Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

~ megs14malloy

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So, this book is basically my life now.
Scolding myself for waiting so darn long to pick it up!

This was also my first Marissa Meyer book and I was completely impressed with her fantastic storytelling. The cyberpunk feel of this was exactly what I needed to fully immerse myself in the world.

*Caution: Mild spoilers ahead.

Cinder is a mechanic in the city of New Beijing. She’s also a cyborg, a fact she hides from the whole world, minus her family. Her adoptive family.

She doesn’t recall any of her life prior to the operation that resulted in her cyborg status but has never questioned it too much. What is the point of trying to remember?

When a plague sweeps down on her city, her beloved stepsister Peony becomes infected. She was visiting a market with Cinder at the time the plague broke and Cinder’s wicked Stepmother blames her.

In the most heinous of acts, she donates Cinder to be used for scientific research finding a cure for the disease. Apparently, cyborgs are nothing but property. Add in the fact that no one seems to survive the research process, it is clear her Stepmother never wants to see her again.

Cinder feels alone and betrayed but in a way, she too blames herself for Peony’s illness. Once experimentation begins however, it is revealed that Cinder is immune. Something in her body’s chemistry destroys the plague immediately. How could that be?

Prince Kai shows interest in Cinder from the time he drops his android off at her shop to be repaired. He asks her to the ball but of course she cannot accept. The cutest crush ever ensues and once the Prince’s father, the Emperor, dies, another victim of the plague, they are pushed even further together.

Our villain descends from the moon, the ‘planet’ Luna. She is an extraordinary enemy with a ton of power and equal amounts of ambition. She discovers something about Cinder before Cinder even knows herself and will stop at nothing to take her down.

I adored this. I loved all the delicious scifi elements that paid perfect homage to the original tale. You could definitely tell that this was the story of Cinderella, just bumped far into the future.

I thought the pace was great, I enjoyed Cinder as a character and also loved her relationship with Dr. Erland and Peony. Oh, and of course, her android, who was hilariously sweet. I cannot wait to continue on with this series. Scarlet is calling to me!

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Review: Flawed (Flawed #1) by Cecelia Ahern

~ megs14malloy

Flawed (Flawed, #1)Flawed by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book #3 for my Sci-Fi September!!!!

 

Celestine North is a high school girl living a Perfect life with her Perfect family.

In a society that values Perfection in mind, body and spirit, this is of the utmost importance. Because of this, maintaining Perfection is a primary focus of the citizens living within this dystopian society.

Collectively they punish those who they deem as lacking. Such individuals are branded as Flawed and never treated the same within society again, virtually designating them as the lowliest individuals that Perfects are afraid to even associate with.

When Celestine’s neighbor and piano teacher, a woman she feels she knows well, is punished as being Flawed, she is shocked, never having experienced a Flawed person so close to home.

She is also shocked to see the lack of empathy on the faces of her other neighbors as the Flawed woman is forcibly dragged from her home, away from the embraces of her crying children.

This incident causes Celestine to begin questioning everything. With new doubts in her mind, she tries to get back to life as usual but it very difficult. One day on a bus, she commits an act that ultimately gets her branded as Flawed. Her crime, compassion.

She is imprisoned, literally branded on her body and made to wear and arm patch with a big capital F on it, so all of society will know of her disgrace. Think futuristic The Scarlet Letter.

Her rights are stripped and life as she knows it, is over. Her long-time boyfriend, Art Crevan, whose father is the Judge that sentenced her, has disappeared. She is secluded and alone. Even her little brother is afraid of her.

In the midst of her situation, she hears rumblings of a possible underground movement out to overthrow the ruling party. They are pushing for a more equal society, ridding it of the old Perfect or Flawed mentality. The rebels have grabbed onto Celestine’s story and are using her as a sort of figurehead for their movement.

This was truly a delightful surprise. I really enjoyed this! It was like a CW show, and I mean that in the best way, easy and addicting. The pace was fast and information revealed to you just when you needed it to be. I could have used a teeny bit more of world-building but I am hoping more will be revealed in the next book.

I think if you are looking for a futuristic YA Dystopian that is quick and well written, you should definitely check this one out. Good solid drama, intriguing premise and it leaves off in a great spot for the continuation of the story. I definitely plan to pick up the sequel soon!

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Review: Red Rising (Red Rising #1) by Pierce Brown

~ megs14malloy

Red Rising (Red Rising, #1)Red Rising by Pierce Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is an absolute blessing!!!

I am so thankful that I finally made the choice to pick this one up for my Sci-Fi September. I have heard so much about this series, so many raving reviews, so much love, so much hype…

…but, would it work for me? I am late to the party. Maybe the thrill is gone?

Fortunately, I adored this. The beginning, I’ll admit, I was on the fence but once Darrow meets the Sons of Ares, I was paying attention. It drew me in and never let go from there on out!

This brought back some nostalgia for my OG, The Hunger Games, and I’m cool with that. The best part of a great dystopian are those moments when you think, ‘Oh shit. This could happen someday’.

For me personally, one of the most important aspects of a dystopian story is the world-building. It has to be vast and detailed yet easy to pick up.

I felt the caste system, with designations based on colors, was really well done. Although I couldn’t list for you the role of each of the colors, I do feel I have an understanding of the functioning of the world as a whole.

Picking up this book, I really did not know too much about the plot. I was so pleased that it ended up having two of my favorite tropes ever.

The first being a training and competition element. The fact that this competition happened to involve political and military strategy was the absolute icing on the cake.

The second is a chosen one from the lowest rung of society setting out to overthrow a decadent and corrupt ruling class. I just dig that trope and Darrow is very likable protagonist. In fact, this entire book has plenty of people to cheer for and to hate because we all know, a good villain is VERY important!

I have already picked up the next book in the series, Golden Son, and it just keeps getting better and better. I cannot wait to continue on. This is definitely binge GOLD.

To all of you who have recommended this to me over the years, thank you! You are a genius and a true friend!

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Review: The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney

~ megs14malloy

The Perfect WifeThe Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

CAUTION: This review may contain minor spoilers.

When Abbie Cullen mysteriously disappears, her husband, Tim Scott, creator and owner of Scott Robotics, does what any Titan of Tech would do. He creates a sentient robot to replace her. Well, maybe replace her isn’t the correct term, find her?

It is clear from the start that you are in for a unique experience when you open this book. The writing is strong but quirky and it took me a while to get used to it due to the different perspectives.

In particular, you get Abbie’s present timeline perspective told in 2nd person. This seemed a bizarre choice at first but I did get used to it as the narrative progressed. You also get Abbie’s past perspective in the days leading up to her disappearance, as well as an unknown narrator who is an employee at Scott Robotics.

Abbie, as we meet her, is a very likable character. There is a lot of mystery surrounding her. How she came to be and who knows what about her disappearance and apparent regeneration?

A lot of the emotional turmoil of this book comes with Abbie adjusting to her every day life. Reintroducing herself to the world. They have an autistic child, Danny, and his schooling and daily care were discussed in some detail.

As a Sci-Fi fan, I felt this was a very pertinent and cutting edge Techno-Thiller. If you are someone who is interested in the advancement of technology, in particular, the future of AI, you should definitely pick this up.

Part psychological thriller, part cautionary tale, I thought Delaney kept this believable enough to really cause the reader to think about the use of robotics in the home and whether we think that is a good thing of a bad thing.

It also explored topics like data ownership and consent that I think are equally important. Basically, the cobot (companion robot) who knows herself as Abbie, was made by uploading a compilation of the real Abbie’s data, such as social media posts and text messages.

Thus, through these ‘memories’, the cobot is able to develop the characteristics and personality of the original creator. It is a bit more complicated than that but you get the gist. It’s very Stepford Wives.

If it wasn’t for the last three or four chapters, this would have been a solid 4-star read for me. Sadly, I was a little disheartened with the run-up to the conclusion. There were some sharp turns that I would have preferred to go a different way.

Of course this is entirely subjective but I do have to be honest about the fact that it ultimately did affect my overall enjoyment of the story. With this being said, I still do recommend this one!!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Ballantine Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I truly appreciate the opportunity and did have a lot of fun with my first, but certainly not my last, J.P. Delaney book!

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September Reading Plans

~ megs14malloy ~ 2 Comments

Coming out of a very successful ‘ARC August’-themed reading month, I have decided to select a different theme for each month for the next year of reading!

My goal for each month is to read 10 books that fit within that theme. I generally read between 12 and 18 books a month, so that seems to be an attainable goal. The reason I am giving myself some wiggle room is because I will always have ARCs, readalongs, readathons, etc., that won’t quite fit in with the assigned theme. 

My theme for this month is:

SCI-FI SEPTEMBER!!!!

Guys, I am so pumped for this. Sci-Fi is arguably my favorite genre and I haven’t been reading enough of it lately. I buy a ton of Sci-Fi books but then never seem to get around to them.

Within this I will be including a whole host of Sci-Fi subgenres, such as: apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, anything involving alien life, time travel, multi-dimension or multi-universe, steampunk, techno-thriller, military, biohazard or anything related to pandemics, zombie, climate fiction, space colonization, space opera and dystopian. 

I think I can definitely meet my goal of 10-books within this wide range of fascinating Sci-Fi subgenres. I have my eye on quite a few on my shelves that have been sitting around for WAY TOO LONG!

I have already started and am currently reading 3 Sci-Fi books: 

  • The Perfect Wife (ARC) by J.P. Delaney. This is an Adult Techno-Thriller with a sentient robot being created essentially to replace a man’s missing wife. I am really enjoying it and actually only have 10% left so may be finishing it tonight!
  • Contagion by Erin Bowman is a YA Sci-Fi Thriller. I am listening to the audiobook for this one and also really enjoying it. It is quite intense. This follows a crew of people sent on a search and rescue mission into deep space when a mining crew puts out an S.O.S. What they find upon their arrival is nothing like what they would have imagined. Let’s just say, this one is quite aptly titled!
  • Hyperion by Dan Simmons is a Hugo-Award winning, complex Adult Sci-Fi novel, written in 1989, that is structured much like Chaucer’s, Canterbury Tales. I am participating in a month-long readalong of this book with some book buddies over on Bookstagram. I just started it this morning and thus far, am confused, but I am sure I will ultimately enjoy the experience.

So, that’s it for now. I just wanted to write this quick update and let y’all know what I was up to. If you have any Sci-Fi recommendations, please feel free to leave them in the comments below or contact me through any of my social media links!

Until next time,

Cheers & Happy Reading!

 

Final Review: The Last Hope (The Raging Ones 2) by Krista and Becca Ritchie

~ megs14malloy

The Last Hope (The Raging Ones, #2)The Last Hope by Krista Ritchie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

It’s hard to believe this one is over. There are still so many ways this story could go but I am quite pleased with the ending. It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to characters I enjoy so much.

If you are unaware, The Last Hope is the concluding book in The Raging Ones duology, written by sister-writing duo, Krista and Becca Ritchie. This YA SciFi Romance is one of my most anticipated sequels of the year. The first book, The Raging Ones, was release in August of 2018 and I was so impressed with it! I had never read anything by either one of the Ritchie sisters so wasn’t sure what to expect.

It really kept me engaged the whole way through and the world-building was excellent! The end of had a HUGE reveal and cliffhanger ending. Our young protagonists discovered something that shook their world to its foundations. When I finished that last page my jaw was legit on the floor!!!

How the heck was I going to wait a year before getting my hands on the second book?

Well, lucky for me, I didn’t have to wait a full year. I was blessed to receive an early copy of the second book, The Last Hope, from the publisher, Wednesday Books. I very hearty thank you to them and guys, guess what!?

I loved this so much! It starts off with our main three literally in a fight for their lives. Rescued by a cast of new characters they board a starship from Earth, where they begin to learn all things Earthling. It is at this time that they are made aware of the fact that the fate of planet Earth is on the line and they are amongst the only people who can do something about it.

Now on a quest against time, with the future of the universe on the line, Franny, Court and Mykal have to push past their limits and fight against all odds until the ultimate finale. As with the first book, this second is highly unique and wonderfully written. It again kept me engaged from start to finish and I seriously did not want it to be over. It hurts my heart.

There were some intense scifi twists at the end that at first had me scratching my head. Were they brilliant or were they there out of convenience? Overall, I don’t really care. The story ended great. Was it perfect? No. The pacing was a little off for me in this one. The middle dragged a wee bit and the end seemed a tad rushed but in its entirety, this is a great story.

This duology will continue to hold a special place in my heart and I recommend it to YA SciFi and Fomance fans. If you weren’t aware, there is quite a bit of romance in these books, mainly between Mykal and Court.

The romance elements were quite well done, in my opinion. Both Krista and Becca are experienced romance writers so that makes perfect sense. This being said, although there is romance, it definitely does not over shade the scifi elements.

At its core this is a scifi story that I feel is accessible to all levels of science-fiction readers. So, whether you are new to the genre, or an old hat like myself, I think everyone can enjoy this!

I hope the authors produce more in this genre as I really think they did an excellent job with this duology. They should be very proud of their efforts. Now that the completed pair is on the shelves, this is the perfect time to head to your local bookseller, or favorite online retailer and pick them both up for a binge session!

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Book Chat: The Last Hope is Now Available!!!

~ megs14malloy

Tuesday, August 13, 2019 was a good day.
It was on this day, this past Tuesday, that the concluding book in The Raging Ones duology was released.

Titled, The Last Hope, this YA-scifi novel written by the sister writing duo, Krista and Becca Ritchie, is one of my most anticipated sequels of the year. The first book in the duology, The Raging Ones, released in August 2018 and I was so impressed by it. I loved it so much and easily gave it a full five star rating. To see my full review on Goodreads, click here: Meg’s Review of The Raging Ones

Set in the very distant future, 3525 to be exact, we follow three main protagonists who have a very peculiar relationship and seem to be unlike any other individuals on their planet. To be clear, this story does not take place on Earth. Our protagonists, Franny, Court and Mykal, are all linked by their senses. They can feel, taste and smell what the others are experiencing.

This idea of sensory linking is so interesting to me. Although the trio struggles to get used to this phenomenon, they have no clue why this is happening to them. One thing they do know is that if anyone discovers their secret, they could be in very serious trouble.

As a trio, they enroll to compete for a chance to be a part of the Saga-5 mission, essentially a space mission that will get them off their planet and away from prying eyes. Accepted into the competition they are made to live in dormitories, undergo training and compete in challenges to prepare for the mission. Y’all know that a competition is one of my all-time favorite tropes. I love competition in real life and books are no different.

The end of the first book had a HUGE reveal and cliffhanger ending. Our young protagonists discovered something that shook their world to its foundations. When I finished that last page my jaw was legit on the floor!!! How the heck was I going to wait a year before getting my hands on the second book?

Well, lucky for me, I didn’t have to wait a full year. I was blessed to receive an early copy of the second book, The Last Hope, from the publisher, Wednesday Books. I very hearty thank you to them. Guys, guess what!?

I loved this one just as much. It starts off with our main three literally in a fight for their lives. Rescued by a cast of new characters they board a starship from Earth, where they begin to learn all things Earthling. It is at this time that they are made aware of the fact that the fate of planet Earth is on the line and they are amongst the only people who can do something about it. Dah dah dah….

Now on a quest against time, with the future of the universe on the line, Franny, Court and Mykal have to push past their limits and fight against all odds until the ultimate finale. As with the first book, this second is highly unique and wonderfully written. It kept me engaged from start to finish and I seriously did not want it to be over. It hurts my heart.

This duology will continue to hold a special place in my heart and I recommend it to YA scifi and romance fans. There is a heavy dose of romance in these books, the main romance being a male/male romance between Mykal and Court. The romance elements were quite well done, in my opinion. Both Krista and Becca are experienced romance writers so that makes perfect sense. This being said, although there is romance, it definitely does not over shade the scifi elements. At its core this is a scifi story that I feel is accessible to all levels of science-fiction readers. So, whether you are new to the genre, or an old hat like myself, I think everyone can enjoy this!

I hope the authors produce more in this genre as I really think they did an excellent job with this duology. They should be very proud of their efforts. Now that the completed duology is on the shelves, this is the perfect time to head to your local bookseller, or favorite online retailer and pick them both up for a binge session! I personally am planning a full ‘Scifi September’ TBR — perhaps you would like to join me!? These books would certainly be a perfect fit for that theme!

Cheers, my friends & Happy Reading!

 

Review: Nyxia Uprising (Nyxia Triad #3) by Scott Reintgen

~ megs14malloy

Nyxia Uprising (The Nyxia Triad, #3)Nyxia Uprising by Scott Reintgen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

MY BABIES!!!!

My sweet babies. From desperate kids to intergalactic space pirates. I love you all so much.

Guys, this action-packed YA scifi series is soooooo underrated. I loved each and every one of these books. It’s just the perfect series of events.

You watch these kids grow, from the earlier competitors that they were, to the strong and fearless young adults they become and it seriously added 10-years to my life.

As this is the third book in the triad, I won’t say too much on the plot, but I can scream from the rooftops that this was such a satisfying conclusion.

During the course of the series, you will become really attached to these characters. They are diverse, well written, each with their own distinctive voice…

That’s it. I am done. I’m not sure how much more gushing I can handle in one day.

I am so happy I made time for this. Finally! It has taken me way too long. I definitely plan to read this series again someday, back-to-back. I had forgotten some details in between Book 2 and this one so I would love to get a full immersive experience of bingeing them.

If you like YA scifi, if you like competition tropes, if you like found families, do yourself a favor and check this series out.

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Review: The Finder by Suzanne Palmer

~ megs14malloy

Finder (Finder Chronicles, #1)Finder by Suzanne Palmer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fergus Ferguson is a repo man.
In space.

How cool is that!?

In this incredibly action-packed tale, we follow him as he tries to recover the stolen spacecraft, Venetia’s Sword. He ultimately tracks the ship down in the farthest reaches of human-inhabited space but due to complications, is unable to commandeer it right away.

Arum Gilger, the bad guy who stole the ship, transported it to a harvesting colony called Cernee. There he functions as a sort of criminal overlord and the locals aren’t happy with him or his bullying ways.

As Fergus arrives, the colony finds itself newly engaged in a civil war. Before long, Fergus ends up banding together with Gilger’s enemies and participating more than he would like in their local battles.

I had so much fun reading this book. Palmer’s world creation is incredible. I felt like I was part of the action which is literally, NON-STOP!!! At times, I was a little lost, I have to admit but once I refocused myself I was able to catch up pretty quickly.

Fergus Ferguson is a smart, creative, humorous, engaging and humble main character. I absolutely loved him!! I cannot wait to read more adventures with him at the helm.

There were great side characters in here as well who had well fleshed out personalities and motivations. I think this is a great start to a new series and y’all know, I will definitely be coming back for more!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group/DAW, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I know this series is going to keep getting better and better and I am totally looking forward to being along for the ride!

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Review: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman

~ megs14malloy

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)Illuminae by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I.
{ERROR}

AM.
IN.
{ERROR}

LOVE.

I would give a million stars to this if I could. Seriously, all the stars!!

I sort of feel like I was the last person in the universe to experience Illuminae. I call it an experience because, oh my stars, was it ever.

I wasn’t sure going in whether or not I would be able to handle the format. Scanning through the book before starting it seemed so chaotic. How would I ever keep track of it all?

In the end, it really worked for me! Something as simple as having a black page with white font makes the reading experience so unique. I was urged by quite a few folks to check out the audiobook but I didn’t want to miss out on any of the visuals.

Moving forward, I may switch back and forth between audio and hard copy for Gemina; see how I like it.

I won’t go into the plot here, as I feel at this point, we all pretty much get what this is about. One thing I will say though, is how impressed I was with the characters; including Aidan. They were so well done.

I felt extremely attached to Kady and Ezra but also, even the side characters, were well-fleshed out. At its heart, this story is an action-packed tale of love and loss. It tugged at my heartstrings, for real.

Even though it is a pretty chunky book, it went by so quickly. I didn’t want it to end. I’m not sure when I will be able to continue on with the series but am I definitely looking forward to it!!!!

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